Monitoring CPU Core Usage in Real Time with CPU Meter Pro

CPU Meter Pro is a free system monitoring utility designed for modern microprocessors that continuously displays the usage for all cores available in the processor in a big or small meter dials, like the meters on the dashboard in your car. It works on all Windows systems from XP and above, and supports both 32-bit and 64-bit editions. When running, it eats less than 5MB of RAM, and can be set either stay always on top or silently sit on the desktop.

It’s also portable, so you can simple download it from its web page, and run it right away.

By default, the program displays all the cores of your processor in vertical sticking to the right side of your screen, always on top. You can change the look and layout from many settings available to suite your need, such as displaying in row mode, showing up the usage on each core, changing the refresh rate, or opacity rate. And of course, you can turn on/off “Stay on Top” option, as well as “Auto Run” feature. All you need to do is simply right-click the program window (Figure 1).

Figure 1 – options

What I also like to point out is its About page, which is not only a normal about page but also a page that displays the basic information about the processor as well, including brand, type, and speed. (Figure 2)

Figure 2 – About page

You can drag the tool’s window anywhere on your desktop and it snaps to the corners or edges automatically. To reduce the usage load for the slower computer, you can change the settings to reduce the size of the program, and the FPS value.